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INDEX

INTRODUCTION

DISCOVERY
ENERGY BAND DIAGRAM
INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR
EXTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR
N-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR
P-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR
MASS ACTIO LAW
BARRIER FORMATION IN P-N JUNCTION DIODE
DEPLETION BARRIER
POTENTIAL BARRIER
P-N JUNCTION DIODE
FORWARD BIASING OF A P-N JUNCTION
REVERSE BIASIG P-N JUNCTION
P-N JUNCTION AS RECTIFIER
SPECIAL PURPOSE p-n JUNCTION DIODES
ZENER DIODE
OPTOELECTRONIC JUNCTION DEVICE
PHOTO DIODE
LIGHT EMITTING DIODE
SOLAR CELL
TRANSISTOR AS A DEVICE
TRANSISTOR AS A SWITCH
TRANSISTOR AS AN AMPLIFIER
IMPORTANCE OF SEMICONDUCTOR

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INTRODUCTION

The material whose electrical conductivity lies between those of conductor and insulator are
known as semiconductor.

Silicon 1.1Ev

Germanium 0.7Ev

Cadmium Sulphide 2.4Ev

• Semiconductors are crystalline or amorphous solids with distinct electrical

characteristics
• They are of high resistance higher than typical resistance materials but still of much
lower resistance than insulators
• Their resistance decreases as their temperature increases , which is behaviour opposite
to that of a metal
• Silicon is the most widely used semiconductor

DISCOVERY

• Whenever you will learn about the history of electricity and electronics you will find
that a lot of the ground breaking work was done in the 19th century .the situation is no
different for semiconductors
• Tariq Siddiqui is generally acknowledge is one of the first experimenters to notice
semiconductor properties.

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ENERGY BAND DIAGRAM

• Forbidden energy band is small for semiconductors .

• Less energy is required for electron to move from valence to conduction band

• A vacancy hole remains when an electron leaves the valence band

• Hole act as a positive charge carrier

INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR

A semiconductor material in its pure form is known as an intrinsic semiconductor. Thus, the
intrinsic semiconductors are chemically pure, i.e. they are free from impurities.

In case of intrinsic semiconductors, the number of charge carriers, i.e., holes and electrons
are determined by the properties of the semiconductor material itself instead of the impurity.
Also, the number of free electrons is equal to the number of holes in the intrinsic
semiconductor. The common examples of the intrinsic semiconductors are germanium (Ge)
and silicon (Si).

The extrinsic semiconductors have high electrical conductivity.

The conductivity of extrinsic semiconductor is dependent on temperature as well as amount

of impurity added.

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The extrinsic semiconductor conducts at 0 Kelvin temperature.

EXTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR

When a small amount of chemical impurity is added to an intrinsic semiconductor, then the
resulting semiconductor material is known as extrinsic semiconductor. The extrinsic
semiconductor is also known as doped semiconductor. The process of adding impurity in the
intrinsic semiconductor is known as doping. The doping of semiconductors increases their
conductivity

Based on the type of doping, the extrinsic semiconductors are classified into two types viz.
N-type semiconductors and P-type semiconductors. When a pentavalent impurity is added to
an intrinsic semiconductor, then the resulting semiconductor is termed as N-type
semiconductor. On the other hand, when a trivalent impurity is added to a pure
semiconductor, then the obtained semiconductor is known as P-type semiconductor.

Two types of impurity atoms are added to the semiconductor

Atom containing 5 valances atom containing 3 valances

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Electrons

Pentavalent impurity atoms (trivalent impurity)

eg. P,As,Sb, Bi eg. Al,Ga,B,In

N-Type semiconductor P-Type semiconductor

N-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR

• The semiconductors which are obtained by introducing penta valent impurity atoms
are known as N-type semiconductors.
• Examples are P, Sb, As, and Bi. These elements have 5 electron in their valance shell.
Out of which 4 electron will form covalent bonds with the neighbouring atoms and
the 5th electron will be available as a current carrier .the impurity atom is thus known
as donate tom
• In N-type semiconductor current flows due to the movement of electrons and holes
but majority of through electrons. Thus electron in N – type semiconductor are known
as majority charge carriers while holes as minority charge carriers.

P-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR

• The semiconductor which are obtained by introducing trivalent impurity atom are
known as P-type semiconductor
• Examples are Ga, In, Al and B .these elements have 3 electron in their valance shell
which will form covalent bond with the neighbouring atom
.
• The fourth covalent bond will remain incomplete. A vacancy which exist in the
incomplete covalent bond constitute a hole .The impurity atom is thus known as
acceptor atom
• In P-type semiconductor current flows due to movement of electrons and holes but
majority of through holes .Thus holes in P-type semiconductor are known as majority
charge carrier while electron as minority charge carrier

MASS ACTION LAW

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Addition of n –type impurities decrease the number of holes below a level .Similarly the
addition of p-type impurities decreased the number of electron below a level .It has been
experimentally found that under thermal equilibrium for any semiconductor the product
of no. of holes and the no. of electrons is constant and independent of amount of doping .
this relation is known as mass action law .

ne.nh= ni

Where ne = electron concentration

nh = hole concentration and intrinsic concentration

BARRIER FORMATION IN P-N JUNCTION DIODE

The holes from p-side diffuses to the n side while the free electrons from n-side diffuses to
the p-side. This movement occurs because of charge density gradient. This leaves the
negative acceptor ions on the p-side and positive donor ions on the n-side uncovered in the
vicinity of the junction .Barrier formation in P-N junction Diode. Thus there is negative
charge on p-side and positive on n –side. This setup potential difference across the junction
and hence an internal electric filed directed from n-side to p-side .Equilibrium is established
when the field become large enough to stop further diffusion of the majority charge
carrier .The region which become depleted of the mobile charge carrier is called the depletion
region .The potential barrier across the depletion region is called potential barrier. Width of
depletion region depend upon the doping level .The higher the doping level, thinner will be
the depletion region.

DEPLETION REGION

• It is a region near the p-n junction that is depleted of any mobile charge carrier
• The depletion region depends upon
1 The type of biasing
2 Extent of doping

POTENTIAL BARRIRE (VB)

Due to accumulation of immobile ion cores in the junction, a potential difference is

developed which prevent the further movement of majority charge across the junction.

P-N JUNCTION DIODE

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A p-n junction consist of wafers of p-type and n type semiconductors fused together or grown
on each other

FORWARD BIASING OF A P-N JUNCTION

(a) A p-n junction is said to be forward biased when p region is maintained at a higher
potential with respect to the n- region as shown
(b)When forward biased majority changes carriers in both the regions are pushed through
the junction .The depletion region’s width decreases and the junction offers low
resistance, and potential difference across the junction becomes VB- V

REVERSE BIASIG P-N JUNCTION

(a) A p-n junction is said to be reversed biased when its p-region is maintained at lower
potential with respect to its n-region is as shown
(b)When the junction is reverse biased the majority career in both the regions are pushed
away from the junction .the depletion region width increase and the potential
difference across the junction becomes VB+ V

P-N JUNCTION AS RECTIFIER

Rectification: it is the process of conversion of AC into DC.A single p- n junction, of two or

four p-n junction can be used for this purpose.

Half wave rectifier : a single p-n junction can be used for half wave rectifier .It conducts
only during alternate half cycle of the input AC voltage .As a result the output voltage does
not change in polarity .The average of the voltage from a half wave rectifier is low .

Full wave rectifier: It is achieved using two p-n junction .It conducts for both halves of the
cycle .The average voltage of a full wave rectifier is more than that of a half wave rectifier ,
for the same voltage of AC voltage .

SPECIAL PURPOSE p-n JUNCTION DIODES

ZENER DIODE

A Zener diode is a heavily doped semiconductor device that is designed to operate in the
reverse direction. A Zener Diode, also known as a breakdown diode, is a heavily doped
semiconductor device that is designed to operate in the reverse direction. When the voltage
across the terminals of a Zener diode is reversed, and the potential reaches the Zener Voltage
(knee voltage), the junction breaks down, and the current flows in the reverse direction. This
effect is known as the Zener Effect.

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OPTOELECTRONIC JUNCTION DEVICE

We have seen so far how a semiconductor diode behaves under applied electrical inputs. In
this section, we have learn about semiconductor diode in which carrier are generated by
photons (photo-excitation) .All these devices are called optoelectronic device.

(I) Photo diode : used for detecting optical signal (photo detectors)

(II) Light emitting diode : (LED) : which convert electrical energy into light (III)

(III) Photo voltaic devices : which convert optical radiation into electricity ( solar cells
)

PHOTO DIODE:

A photodiode is a light-sensitive semiconductor diode. It produces current when it absorbs

photons. The package of a photodiode allows light (or infrared or ultraviolet radiation, or X-
rays) to reach the sensitive part of the device. The package may include lenses or optical
filters. Devices designed for use specially as a photodiode use a PIN junction rather than a p–
n junction, to increase the speed of response. Photodiodes usually have a slower response
time as their surface area increases. A photodiode is designed to operate in reverse bias. A
solar cell used to generate electric solar power is a large area photodiode. Photodiodes are
used in scientific and industrial instruments to measure light intensity, either for its own sake
or as a measure of some other property (density of smoke, for example). A photodiode can be
used as the receiver of data encoded on an infrared beam, as in household remote controls.
Photodiodes can be used to form an opt coupler, allowing transmission of signals between
circuits without a direct metallic connection between them, allowing isolation from high
voltage differences.

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LIGHT EMITTING DIODE

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows
through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in
the form of photons. The color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photons) is
determined by the energy required for electrons to cross the band gap of the semiconductor.
White light is obtained by using multiple semiconductors or a layer of light emitting
phosphor on the semiconductor device. LEDs have many advantages over incandescent light
sources, including lower power consumption, longer lifetime, improved physical robustness,
smaller size, and faster switching. In exchange for these generally favourable attributes,
disadvantages of LEDs include electrical limitations to low voltage and generally to DC ( not
AC) power, inability to provide steady illumination from a pulsing DC or an AC electrical
supply source, and lesser maximum operating temperature and storage temperature. In
contrast to LEDs, incandescent lamps can be made to intrinsically run at virtually any supply
voltage, can utilize either AC or DC current interchangeably, and will provide steady
illumination when powered by
AC or pulsing DC even at a frequency as low as 50 Hz. LEDs usually need electronic support
components to function, while an incandescent bulb can and usually does operate directly
from an unregulated DC or AC power source.

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SOLAR CELL

A solar cell is basically a p-n junction which generates emf when solar radiation falls on the
p-n junction .It works on the same principle (photo voltaic effect) as the photodiode, except
that no external bias is applied and the junction area is kept much larger for solar radiation to
be incident because we are interested in more power.

A transistor has three doped regions forming two p-n junctions between them there are two
types of transistor

(i) n-p-n transistor: here two segments of n –type semiconductor (emitter and
collector) are separated by a segment of p-type semiconductor (base) .
(ii) p-n-p transistor: here two segment of p-type semiconductor(termed as emitter
and collector)are separated by a segment of n-type semiconductor (termed as
base).
A brief description of the three segments of a transistor is given below:
Emitter: this is the segment on one side of a transistor .It is of moderate size and
heavily doped. It supplies a large number of majority carrier for the current flow
through the transistor
Base: this is the central segment .It’s very thin and lightly doped.
Collector: this segment collects major portion of the majority carrier supplied by the emitter.

TRANSISTOR AS A DEVICE

When the transistor is used in the cut off or saturation state it acts it acts as a switch. On the
other hand for using the transistor as an amplifier it has to operate in the active region
Transistor as a switch

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We shall try to understand the operation of the transistor as a switch by analysing the
behaviour of the base-biased transistor applying Kirchhoff’s voltage rule to the input and
output sides of this circuit we get , V BB = IBRB+VBE And VCE =VCC - ICRC

TRANSISTOR AS AN AMPLIFIER

For using the transistor as an amplifier we will use the active region of the V o versus Vi
curve .The slope of the linear part of the curve represent the rate of change of the output with
the input .It is negative because the output is V cc – I c R c .That is why as input voltage of
the CE amplifier increases its output voltage decreases and the output is said to be out of
phase with the input.

IMPORTANCE OF SEMICONDUCTOR

Semiconductors are a key element of electronic systems, allowing for developments in

communication, computing, healthcare, military technology, transportation, clean energy,
and a variety of other applications.

Semiconductors, also called integrated circuits (ICs) or microchips, are made of raw materials
like silicon and germanium. The process is known as doping, where small add-ons of other
elements create fluctuations in how well the electricity flows.

Semiconductors are necessary for electronic devices, which are an integral part of our lives.
For example, phones, radios, TVs, computers, video games, and medical diagnostic
equipment would not exist without semiconductors.

SEMICONDUCTOR PLAYS VITAL ROLE IN MANY AREAS,

INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING:

Transistors

The foundation of transistors is the semiconductor. Transistors have allowed us to create

smaller devices that can accomplish more. They may be found in everything from cell phones
to tablets to PCs, as well as a variety of other applications. They’re also essential for things
like solar panels and medical imaging equipment.

Computing

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Semiconductors are the fundamental components of today’s computing. They are in charge of
operating all of our technology, including smartphones, computers, and automobiles. We
wouldn’t have any of today’s technologies without them. They are present in almost every
type of electrical device imaginable.

Appliances

Semiconductors are present in almost every aspect of our lives, from microwave ovens to
dishwashers. Many of our appliances would be useless without them. Semiconductors
regulate the flow of electricity and assist in making electronics function. They’re also used in
solar panels, LED lights, refrigerators, and other appliances.

REFERENCE

PHYSICS NCERT BOOK

WWW.GOOGLE.COM

WWW.WIKIPEDIA.COM

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